Assessment of peak expiratory flow rate of bakers in Osun, Lagos and Oyo States, Nigeria

Abstract

Bakers are exposed to flour dust; thence, they face various tremendous health problems such as asthma and some other respiratory illnesses, which may be aggravated when combined with improper awareness of ways of protection and ignorance by bakery employers and employees. This study focused on bakers' speed of expiration in the selected geographical locations by assessing the Peak Expiratory Flow Rate (PEFR) of the bakers and also establishing equations involving their anthropometric parameters. A total of 435 subjects were considered for each group, classified as a test group and a control group. The PEFR and anthropometric data which includes age, height, weight, and length of chest of bakers and non-bakers were collected using a Mini-Wright peak flow meter and Detecto PD300MDHR column scale. A self-reporting questionnaire was administered to each of the bakers. SPSS (version 21) and MS Excel (version 2016) were used to analyze the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics, as well as T-test analysis, were used to compare the data of the two groups. The study showed that bakers in Agege, Osogbo, and Ibadan have mean PEFR of 372.37, 386.44, and 389.31l/min, respectively, while non-bakers in Agege, Osogbo, and Ibadan have mean PEFR of 487.50, 473.32, and 473.80l/min, respectively. It was observed that some of the factors that affect the low level of PEFR are lack of personal protective equipment, negligence to health tips, carefree attitude to guides, and the principle of safety in bakery industries. It is therefore recommended that require training/retraining, awareness creation, and use of personal protective equipment should be employed as safety interventions highly necessary in the baking industry.